The annual Welwyn Garden City schools photo competition has been launched this month in the run up to the town’s centenary celebrations.

Eleanor Spruce, five, from Templewood school with her entry into the 2017 competition. Picture: Danny Loo

The contest has been arranged by the Welwyn Garden City Photography Club (WGCPC) and this year’s theme is sport and leisure.

Working with the WGC Schools and the WGC Centenary Foundation, pupils from the town’s primary, secondary, private and special schools are again being invited to submit photographs they have taken, to a judging panel.

Trophies, certificates and cash vouchers will be given to the winning contestants at Campus West on July 5.

Richard White, chairman of the WGCPC, said: “We are delighted once again to be the first organisation to start the ball rolling towards 2020, the town’s centenary year.

Some of the entrants to the 2017 Welwyn Garden City Centenary Photographic Competition. Picture: Danny Loo

“In partnership with the schools and supported by the Centenary Foundation we are organising a series of annual photographic competitions in 2017, 2018 and 2019, culminating in a roll-up centenary event in 2020.

“The competition opened on February 12 and already half of the town’s schools have registered to compete.

“We aim to have entries from at least 20 of WGC’s 27 schools by the time of the competition deadline, which is April 30.”

Stanborough School headteacher Peter Brown said: “I am delighted that the schools in the town are the first young people to be involved in the centenary celebrations.

“The Centenary Foundation stated that the direct and active involvement of young people was a priority, and by working together with the foundation plus the enthusiastic support of the WGC Photography Club, we have succeeded in making our contribution to the centenary celebrations.”

Dennis Lewis, who is leading the Centenary Foundation’s joint working group, said: “As soon as we have recovered from the prizegiving in July we shall start working on the 2019 Photographic Competition.

“Our planning assumes that we shall see an increasing number of students from WGC schools submitting good quality photographs each year, particularly for the climax in our centenary year when there will be so much of interest to point our cameras at!”

Results of the 2018 photographic competition will be published in the Welwyn Hatfield Times in July.